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steps should you take to achieve these numbers? Experts recommend estab-

lishing healthy eating and physical activity early in life. Lifelong habits are

often formed during adolescence, so it’s never too early to start entrenching

healthy lifestyle choices. For those who are already overweight or obese, the

first thing to do is avoid gaining any additional weight. The next goal should

be to shed some of the extra pounds. Although it’s not clear how much

weight loss is needed to begin decreasing cancer risk, we have already

learned that losing just five percent of body weight can provide significant

health benefits. Losing weight is certainly difficult for many people.

Numerous diets, programs, and products abound promising weight-loss mir-

acles, but don’t be fooled. Most doctors agree that for the majority of people

the most successful and healthiest road to weight loss is still a healthy diet

and increased exercise. Discussing one’s weight-loss goals and options with a

health professional is often the best first step to getting on the road to bet-

ter health.

Cancer is a scary thing. Most people tense at the mere mention of the “c”

word. While experts cannot definitively say why being overweight or obese

66 / Health Issues Caused by Obesity

Research Project

Think about different weight-loss diets, and

then go online to see which are popular today.

Are you noticing a lot of different fad diets,

such as the cabbage soup diet? Write down the

three diets that interest you the most. Then do some

research and find out what experts, scientists, and doctors

are saying about these diets. Do they work? Are they

healthy? If the professionals do not agree with the diet,

see if there are alternatives that they recommend.